The purpose of the study was to elucidate how apathy in psycotic patients is understood by caretaking nurses, and how the nurses act when facing apatic patients. Key questions in the study were: Which values, attitudes and beliefs forms the foundation of nurses' understanding of apathy and how they act when facing apatic patients? Is there a correlation between the nurses' understanding of apathy and their actions?

Theoretical framework:

As the study seeked to explore the relationship between the nurses understanding and their actions, Argyris and Schøns theories of action was chosen as a theoretical framework.

Method:

A qualitative, exploring design was chosen. With Argyris and Schøns methods used as a basis, data was collected using retrospective case and qualitative interwievs. Six nurses was interviewed and the interviews followed a semistructured interviewguide with two main categories: "understanding" and "action". The cases were analysed prior to the interviews and served as a foundation for the interviews. The interviews were analysed in five steps using meaning condensing. The results for each category were analysed and examined in relation to each other, to the theories of Argyris and Schøn and existing litterature.

Results:

The study showed that the caretaking nurses understood apathy as a symptom of the psychosis. The nurses believed that activating the patients was important, but they found motivating them difficult. Not succeeding with motivating, the nurses often retreated or delayed the intervention. In spite that the nurses understood apathy as a part of the psychotic disorder, there was little professional focus on apathy in the wards.

Conclusion:

The study showed that facing difficult situations with apatic psycotic patients the nurses' understanding of apathy was not congruent with their actions. Control, maximize winning and minimize losing became fundamental in the nurses' actions instead of the values they expressed in their understanding of apathy.